ORC Diary: The Drapery Saga.

Day 5.1.
Thursday. Where it's at.

The post goes live and I start looking at what other linking participants are doing. I begin to panic. I start sewing up my canvas dropcloth for my drapes. Half the day later, I realise I've somehow done my math wrong and with the pleats all pinned, it's going to be too short for the rod.

Start over.

I measure the cloth and realise my first measurement had been wrong--nothing wrong with my math. So, I set to setting the pleats yet again. Then, when the math checks out, hooray, I begin to sew in the pleats. Boy oh, boy, three thicknesses of dropcloth plus buckram really is thick!

Another half of the day goes by and I hang them triumphantly.

Eight inches too short. And the pleats are wonky. I screwed up the spacing at the ends there, somehow.

I put another dropcloth I have lying around into the washing machine to bleach and run out the door to find a solution.

While I am gone, this happens:

In two and a half hours I hit Marshall's, Home Sense, Pier 1, Bed, Bath and Beyond and Home Outfitters. I come home with yarn and two pillows. I keep looking at blankets...and I think, hey, I could make a fringe. I could make eight inch fringe with the yarn for the bottom of the drapes. You know, instead of sleeping. Not sure about it. Happy about the pillows--20% off.

In between jabbing myself with pins, I've put another two coats of stain on the wood for the coffee table today. Looking good.

But I am this close to throwing in the towel--or the dropcloth, as it were.

Day 5.2
Friday.
Halloween.
What's Halloween? Oh yeah, that thing which causes really long line ups at the fabric store!

Mom comes over to help with the couch slip cover. She brings the Poang cushion all covered! We discuss my "fringe" idea for the drapes--and conclude it would probably pick up too much dog hair.

I borrow her car because I realise I'd forgotten to check Walmart last night for more of that fabric I want to trim out the drapes. I also decide I want to paint the back of the bookshelves a colour closer to the rug. Mom helps me figure out a colour and away I go.

I get the paint, but the fabric is not available.

Driving back, I realise that I'd completely forgotten about the Ikea Ritva drapes I'd started reconstructing eons ago. (I bought them in October of 2011. Yes, I checked the blog.) I decide to get them out and figure out why I'd given up on them.

When I return, Mom has to leave. I don't have time to tell her about the drapes.

When she's gone, I decide the "new" old Ikea drapes will be fine. Mom comes back and takes everything out of the bookcases for me.

Six and a half hours after she leaves, I have one drapery panel done.

Again.

Not liking how it is hanging. Is it the Euro pleat?

I'll look again in the morning.

One more panel yet. And I work a long day tomorrow. We'll see what happens!